87' Substitution

First Half Action

5 minsFulham were off to a lively start in this crucial Barclays Premiership encounter at Craven Cottage. The Whites, backed by another vocal Craven Cottage following, were on the front foot immediately. Danny Murphy was a central figure in the opening exchanges, anchoring the midfield well and seldom wasting possession.

9 mins
The battle between Kenwyne Jones and Brede Hangeland was certainly shaping up to be a pivotal contest. The former Southampton striker caused Fulham plenty of problems in the reverse fixture earlier in the season.

11 mins
Jimmy Bullard crafted Fulham’s first opening of the match in the 11th minute when he was able to measure a diagonal ball into the box just over the head of Nyron Nosworthy for Brian McBride. The American forward climbed well but was unable to get any power on the ball and Gordon collected comfortably. Two further opportunities quickly arose for Fulham, with both Jimmy Bullard and Simon Davies trying their luck from range.

15 mins
The visitors had the ball in the net on the 15th minute when Danny Collins wrestled past Paul Stalteri to head home Andy Reid’s free kick. However, the referee had spotted Collins’ infringement well before the Sunderland man made contact with the ball.

20 minsDanny Murphy robbed Reid of possession in the centre of the park following a sharp passage of Sunderland passing play. The Fulham midfielder proceeded to make good ground before releasing a pass to Kamara on the edge of the Sunderland area. He was unable to get past Nosworthy but won a corner in the process.

24 minsWith Kenwyne Jones experiencing little success in his battle against Hangeland, the big striker opted play against Aaron Hughes and Paul Stalteri on the right side of Fulham’s back line.

28 minsFulham upped the pressure on the Sunderland back line with a number of crosses which the visiting defence were just about dealing with. The momentum was broken, however, when a slight misunderstanding resulted in Leon Andreasen entering the referee’s book for a late tackle.

35 minsFulham’s fourth corner of the half, a wickedly taken delivery from Bullard, resulted in a near goal line clearance from the visiting back line.

41 minsSimon Davies latched on to a Brian McBride knockdown on the edge of the area but his hurried effort, though with plenty of power, was always rising from the moment it left his boot.

44 mins – GOAL SUNDERLAND – Collins
The visitors took the lead with just a minute to go before the interval. The Whites had failed to deal with an Andy Reid corner and the ball fell to Daryl Murphy who crossed for Collins to get across his marker and head home from close range.

Second Half Action

47 mins
Fulham came close to getting back on level terms soon after the restart when Diomansy Kamara ran onto the ball and fed a pass to McBride. The ball was played back into the danger area towards Kamara but he was unable to apply a meaningful finish.

51 mins
Good work from Simon Davies as he cut in from the right flank, beating Johnny Evans in the process, before delivering a cross which almost brought about an own goal from Daryl Murphy.

53 mins – GOAL SUNDERLAND – Michael Chopra
Sunderland doubled their lead with what can only be best described as a route one goal. Kenwyne Jones won the flick-on midway inside Fulham half. The ball looped up and Michael Chopra was able to outmuscle Aaron Hughes and delicately volley over Keller.

61 minsFulham Substitution – Stalteri OFF Dempsey ON
Fulham added to their attacking options just after the hour mark when Clint Dempsey was brought on for Paul Stalteri. Simon Davies dropped back into the right back position, allowing Dempsey to occupy the right wing.

68 mins
Kasey Keller had to be on hand to produce a fine save after Danny Collins’ shot from the edge of the area took an early deflection.

71 minsFulham Substitution – Kamara OFF Bouazza ONFulham made their final roll of the dice when Hameur Bouazza replaced Diomansy Kamara.

73 mins – GOAL FULHAM – David Healy
David Healy struck a wonderful goal for Fulham, giving the Whites a glimmer of hope. The Northern Ireland striker almost lost his footing before receiving the ball, he then took a touch and curked a superb left footed shot into top left hand corner.

75 mins – GOAL SUNDERLAND – Kenwyne Jones
No sooner had the game settled back into a normal rhythm; the visitors had re-established their two-goal cushion. Brede Hangeland lost possession in a dangerous area and Daryl Murphy was on hand to race clear and square the ball for Jones who finished the move off.

85 mins
As the clock wound down Clint Dempsey had a good chance to find the net after Healy had worked half a yard for himself. Dempsey ran on to the ball but shot straight at Gordon.

90 minsThe lively David Healy saw a powerful header go just wide of the post as Fulham’s final attack of the match resulted in a goal kick.